West Bengal govt hall cancels booking for Bhagwat's event, alleges RSS

Authorities say renovation and repair work would be undertaken around that time

The RSS today alleged that a state-owned auditorium here where its chief Mohan Bhagwat was scheduled to attend a programme on October 3 has cancelled the booking for the event.

The move to cancel the booking was condemned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) but the auditorium authorities said renovation and repair work would be undertaken around that time and therefore the facility cannot be provided due to "safety and security reasons."

"This is not the first time that such a move was taken. Earlier also the state (West Bengal) government had done it. We condemn this move," Jishnu Basu, RSS spokesperson in the state, alleged.

A spokesperson for the Sister Nivedita 150th birth anniversary celebrations committee, which had booked Mahajati Sadan for the programme, claimed that the auditorium authorities had accepted the booking in June.

"But last week, officials of the auditorium first said that we need police permission. When we informed them that we have already informed the police about the programme, they said that renovation work will be undertaken in the auditorium during the time and our programme could not take place there," said Rantidev Sengupta, the general secretary of the celebration committee.

Sources in the auditorium said that renovation and repair work would be undertaken and therefore the facility cannot be provided for the event due to "safety and security reasons."

The bookings for other organisations during that time have also been cancelled, the sources said.